World War II

Kyle Vesey
High School History

Common Core Standards:

History:
Benchmark D: Connect developments related to World War I with the onset of World War II.
Indicator 9: Assess the global impact of post-World War I economic, social and political turmoil including:
a.
Disarmament;
b.
Worldwide depression;
c.
Colonial rebellion;
d.
Rise of militarist and totalitarian states in Europe and Asia.
Lesson Summary:
Students will explore post-World War I events, such as the Great Depression, the German economy, the
founding of the Axis powers, and the causes of the war itself. This lesson employs lecture, discussion, and
several small fight simulations.
Estimated Duration:
2 hours and 40 minutes. (Four 40 minute class periods)
Commentary: Students will need to remember events in previous lesson on World War I, including the
overthrow of the Central Powers, the repercussions placed on the Germans by the Allied Powers, and the
League of Nations. Students will also experience what it is like to participate in a bombing drill by hiding
underneath their desks. I anticipate that some students may be unwilling to participate in bombing drill or
battle simulation.

Instructional Procedures:
Day 1: The instructor will pass back and go over graded quizzes from previous chapter (World War I). The
instructor will then begin lecture on how the repercussions of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany caused the
German economy to plummet into the ground, causing money to have next to no value. The instructor will
then show students how the rest of the world was faring after WWI, exploring the Roaring Twenties, the Stock
Market Crash, and the Great Depression. The instructor will end by talking about the effect the Bolshevik

Revolution had on Russia (The Soviet Union at this point), and how that affected the rest of the world.
Instructor will assign worksheet on World War II to be due Thursday.
Day 2: The instructor will begin with a PowerPoint lecture about the rise of dictators, such as Hitler and
Mussolini. A video will be shown of Hitler speaking to a Nazi rally to show his skills in speaking. The
instructor will then begin to lecture about how Hitler began to annex neighboring countries, slowly building up
German land and an army, which were not allowed under the Treaty of Versailles. The instructor will then
divide the room into sections and divide students among the different sections. The far left of the room will
represent France and Great Britain, the middle left will represent Germany, the middle right will represent
Poland, and the far right will represent Russia. Students will be instructed to simulate the battle, throwing
paper balls at each other to represent the battle going on. This will represent the conquest of Poland between
Germany and Russia and Great Britain/France responding with hostility. The instructor will then have students
of Germany and France do battle with each other and have Germany win. Instructor will have several other
battle simulations, all the while explaining what actually happened in those first battles of World War II.
Instructor will have students clean up paper balls and discard them into waste basket. Instructor will remind
students of homework due Thursday.
Day 3: Instructor will begin class with bombing drill, having an alarm from computer going off and instructing
students to calmly hide underneath their desks. After a minute of this, instructor will have students sit in their
seats again and will begin lecture talking about the bombing of London and how that is what would have
actually happened in 1940s England. Instructor will begin lecture on Operation Barbarossa, or the German
invasion of the Soviet Union. Students will, once again, participate in a paper ball war, this time half Soviets,
half Germans. Instructor will discuss United States neutrality as Japan and Italy getting involved in the war on
the side of the Axis powers. Instructor will lecture about Pearl Harbor, showing a YouTube video of the
bombing of Pearl Harbor and President Roosevelts speech. Instructor will then talk about the United States
getting involved in the war, fighting both Japan and Germany/Italy. Instructor will then remind students of
homework due tomorrow and a quiz on Friday.
Day 4: Instructor will begin class by passing out two papers: a study guide for the quiz on Friday and page
labeled If World War II was a Bar Fight. Instructor will have students read the passage. Instructor will begin
lecture on the Allies invasion of Normandy and then the Battle of the Bulge and Berlin. The instructor will
then discuss United States battles in the Pacific against the Japanese. The instructor will then open up the floor
for discussion on whether or not the students think dropping the atomic bombs was necessary and what other
actions could possibly have been taken. Instructor will finish the lecture and begin review for the quiz the next
day.

Pre-Assessment:
One way I could pre-assess my students is to ask questions at the beginning of the lecture about World War II
and see where the students are at in their knowledge of it. I could also hand out a small 5-question quiz (only
to be graded as a participation grade) and go over it on the first day to assess their knowledge.

I would think my students would already know a great deal about World War II, as they were probably taught
in earlier grades.
Scoring Guidelines:
The way I would grade the pre-quiz would be just a small participation grade. If the students were
there in class and took the pre-quiz, they get five points.
The pre-quiz is really a way for me to know where the students are so I can teach to their level and for the
students to know how much they know about the subject. If the students do not do well on the pre-quiz, they
know they would need to study a little bit more for the post-quiz.
Post-Assessment:
My post-assessment would be a full-fledged quiz. The way I want my class set up is me lecturing Monday
through Thursday, assigning homework on Monday, receiving homework and reviewing for the quiz on
Thursday, and having a quiz on Friday. The quiz would be between 10 and 20 questions, mainly consisting of
True/False, Multiple Choice, and Short Answer.
Scoring Guidelines:
I will be grading the quizzes out of 20 points each. Each student will earn a percentage of points and
will be graded on how well they do.

Differentiated Instructional Support

Describe how instruction can be differentiated (changed or altered) to meet the needs of gifted or accelerated
students: For gifted or accelerated students, my lesson can be changed to make it more hands-on. I want to
have my lessons be as much hands-on as possible anyways because I want my students to know that history is
a fun topic to learn.
Discuss additional activities you could do to meet the needs of students who might be struggling with the
material: For students that still may not understand the concepts we are discussing, I could hold an after-school
study session, discussing the lesson in more depth and answering specific students questions.

Extension
A link to where my students could go to learn more would be my blog, which is [Link].
I will be constantly updating my blog with information from my lectures for my students.

Homework Options and Home Connections

My students will be assigned a worksheet for each lesson at the beginning of each lesson and will be expected

to turn it in the before the quiz. The worksheet will consist of questions that can be found in the textbook as
well as from notes that they take in class. Most worksheets will be multiple choice and matching.

Interdisciplinary Connections
This lesson can be connected with English, as we may over some literature from that time period.

Materials and Resources:

For teachers

I will need to have access to YouTube to show at least two videos. I also will be using
either PowerPoint or Prezi to present my lectures. If I use Prezi, I can upload YouTube
videos straight to my presentation. I will also need a smart board, as I may need to
draw on maps to show troop movements.

For students

Students will not need a lot of technology. They will need computers to access my
blog, in which I may post my lecture slides, which they can use for their homework
assignments.

Key Vocabulary
Nazi Party
Fascism
Communism
Operation Barbarossa
Pearl Harbor
Normandy
Hiroshima
Nagasaki
Additional Notes